On our arrival at Moosomin recently, we enjoyed a schnitzel dinner at the Cork and Bone.
The next morning we drove around town and were overwhelmed at the large lot sizes, both for old and new homes, and some of the large homes. Must be a lot of wealth here.
My partner/spouse wanted to shop at the Prairie Girl Gallery, operated by singer/songwriter/artist Eli Barsi.
We had a nice chat with her reminiscing about the music and fairs industries. While viewing her amazing art, we did some shopping.
Next stop was the Moosomin Regional Museum.
Just about every small town museum has one rare artifact. Moosomin has three.
The Fudge snow plane is one. In 1929, Robert Fudge built his first snow plane. Within three years he was building commercially.
Fudge built 400 of them by 1956 when production ceased. They were used in winter to travel to school, church and town.
Using a Chrysler engine and propeller, they overcame deep snow.
Fudge said his teardrop-shaped snow plane offered minimal resistance, while providing wide vision.
The machine could seat four people and was built in several models.
The museum machinery display has a Holt 34 horse-drawn combine harvester. The Holt Manufacturing Company of Stockton, California built its first horse-drawn harvester in 1883.
The company became Caterpillar Tractor.
A GMC truck with a rectangular covered wooden box built on the back is another rare item in the museum.
The T. Eaton Company had six of these caravans — an early form of recreational vehicle
Inside there is a cast iron hand water pump by the sink, a small toilet space, benches to sleep on, a table and seats in front for two.
The T. Eaton Company lent the caravans to employees.
A museum display shows how hospital care has developed since the first building in 1905.
That hospital had one cold water tap from an outside cistern. Sewage was by commode and carried outside. Drinking water was carried in by people.
Sterilization of instruments was done on the stove top.
Today Moosomin has a hospital built about eight years ago with 29 treatment beds, 58 acute care beds and eight doctors serving the southeast region of Saskatchewan.
The Moose Jaw regional hospital has 42 treatment beds and 72 acute care beds.
To get the new hospital Moosomin, (population 3,000) had to raise one-third of the cost — $13.3 million, said museum volunteer David Robertson. They did everything - bake sales, teas, and dinners— to raise the money.
“They didn’t think we’d raise the money,’’ he said. “When it opened the deputy minister said: “If we knew you’d raise the money we would have asked for half (the cost)’’.
Ron Walter can be reached at ronjoy@sasktel.net
